Sixteenth-century ornamental timepieces frame a crystal-studded metal bodysuit by Thierry Mugler. Gilded silver reliquaries with sculpted hands stand next to a pair of Hermès gloves. A ceramic hand warmer from Faenza, Italy, that looks like a book is twinned with a Chanel clutch that looks like a book.

This is “Louvre Couture,” the first fashion exhibition at the famed Paris museum in its 231-year history.

The last time haute couture caused so much excitement at the Louvre was in 1957, when, in the film “Funny Face,” Audrey Hepburn posed in front of the Winged Victory of Samothrace in a strapless red Givenchy gown and rushed down the Daru staircase, lifting a matching chiffon scarf over her head.

Forty-five fashion houses and designers — from Cristóbal Balenciaga to Iris van Herpen — have lent the museum 100 ensembles and accessories, dating from 1960 to 2025. They are arrayed not among the Louvre’s famous paintings and marble sculptures but throughout the nearly 100,000 square feet of its decorative arts department.

The department, whose unwieldy collection ranges from the Middle Ages to the early 19th century, is crammed with thousands of objects: medieval armor, Renaissance tapestries, carved ivories, bronzes, ceramics, imperial silverware and furniture.

“It is not easy to enter our museum, especially our collection,” said Olivier Gabet, the director of the decorative arts department. “Our objective is to make more people, different people, younger people, happy, free and relaxed when they come here. We say to them: ‘OK, you love fashion. Fashion is a bridge to us.’”